Jonathots Daily Blog
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A Rushing Mighty Wind (Week 2)
(tap the picture to see the video)
art by Clazzy
Music: Nor’easter from the symphony, Crystalline
by Jonathan Richard Cring
Drawing Attention … February 19th, 2020
Jonathots Daily Blog
(4326)
A Rushing Mighty Wind
(tap the picture to see the video)
art by Clazzy
Music: Melting Snow from the symphony, Prima Vera
by Jonathan Richard Cring
The B. S. M. G. Report
Jonathots Daily Blog
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Life does not come from strife
But love is from above
BAD
Hellhole.
Nazareth, Galilee, was a community constricted by the domination of the Roman Empire, superstitious and afflicted, impoverished by a belief in a God requiring homage instead of offering compassion.
From this environment, two humans emerged, who found themselves in the unenviable position of having to reject all their training and lose most of their friends, to follow what they believed was divine guidance.
Mary of Nazareth and Joseph of Nazareth
What does a young peasant girl do when she’s suddenly found pregnant and she contends it was at the beckoning of Jehovah?
What does a man do when he’s betrothed to be married and his girlfriend is suddenly impregnated, offering the lamest excuse possible: “The Holy Spirit did it.”
SAD
Joseph was an honorable man, so even though he loved Mary, his training, support system and sense of culture told him that she was a sinful woman, and he must cast her away. He was considering doing it privately so nobody else would know, sending her far away from the Nazareth community, where she certainly would be condemned for being a whore (even though short days earlier she was considered a favored lass).
Mary was given a choice.
God did not intrude or demand that she birth a baby. Yet she replied, “Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord.”
But Nazareth commenced to gossip.
She was labeled a sinner. But worse than that—she was blasphemous by proclaiming that she had divine “hookups.”
Yes, it is so sad that religion offers little relief for those who suffer. When there’s a need for mercy, religion falls back on statutes and interpretations. If it had not been for Joseph deciding to let his love for Mary stay strong when the angel told him that she was telling the truth, our story would have been forever altered.
MAD
Then comes the intervention of those motivated by politics and greedy for power. The Romans wanted taxes, forcing Joseph to return to Bethlehem, with his wife in her third trimester. And Herod, who called himself “the Great,” was so worried about losing his title of “King of the Jews” that when Wise Men from the East came inquiring about a star in the sky, he made preparation to kill whatever was being born in that light.
It is important to know this:
There is no such thing as a politician who is spiritual.
There are no Presidents, Kings or Chancellors who have found a redeeming way to combine their faith with their function.
Beware any man or woman who seeks votes by quoting Holy Word.
Herod believed himself to be a righteous man, given responsibility by the Roman government to protect his people from annihilation. It is maddening that even today, we trust powerful pundits in palaces to provide inspiration to our lives.
GLAD
And then there were the Wise Ones.
They possessed that beautiful balance between personal innocence and professional cynicism.
Even though they were willing to trek across the desert, following a Star with no guarantee of a payoff in the end, when they encountered Herod the Great and they realized he was full of chicanery and lies, they avoided any further contact with him.
They took a different way home.
It says they were warned in a dream. But what made them wise was that they already had an inkling that they were talking to a devil with angelic manners.
The Christmas Story is a tale of Bad, Sad, Mad and Glad.
God does not wait until everyone is perfect to set in motion perfection.
There was no other time in history when the world was united in one spot of Mesopotamia. The Roman Empire had extended its influence from India all the way to what we know as England.
So when the Prince of Peace was born, and later was accepted by the Roman Empire as the true message, the Gospel was able to go from the dreariness of the Middle East throughout the whole world.
It eventually crossed the Atlantic to the New World.
It is amazing.
It is always astounding how Bad and Sad, and even that which could make us Mad, by the simple anointing of wisdom, can change the whole story to something Glad.
Jesonian … April 7th, 2018
Jonathots Daily Blog
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Every story is better told and more effective when the facts are allowed to line up in a reasonable order.
Such is true of the Gospel of Jesus.
Theologians spend so much time proclaiming him the Son of God that they lose the fragrance and uniqueness of the Son of Man. In an attempt to make the tale “super” they lose all of the “natural.”
The average person going to church is deluded by an array of facts which just don’t add up to a crucifixion.
One of those great misconceptions is that Jesus was extremely popular. There were certainly occasions when his crowd appeal spiked, but it always revolved around three stimuli:
A. Was he doing miracles?
B. Was he feeding people?
C. Did it look like he was the Jewish Messiah?
Whenever the populace became convinced through these three “signs and wonders” that God was going to save them from the Romans, they rallied around Jesus. Whenever it was obvious that he was intent on sharing a more universal message which included people that were not Jewish, they slipped away.
Let’s look at some facts:
1. Jesus was rejected by his home town, Nazareth, and never able to return again. Not only was he ignored, but threatened with death–dangled from the edge of a cliff.
2. Even though Jesus held a great revival in Samaria with the testimony from a woman at a well, when he returned to the city, he was forbidden to enter by the town fathers because they found out he also ministered to the Jews.
3. When he fed the 5,000 in Galilee, the hordes followed him for a while–until he told them this was not a food pantry, but rather, that his words and life were the message they were supposed to “eat.” They all departed–except for the twelve.
4. Over and over again, interest sparked with the Pharisees, but when Simon, one of their number, invited him to a special meal, the Pharisee snubbed Jesus and treated him like an outsider.
5. After the resurrection, it is recorded that over 500 people saw Jesus–witnesses of the miracle. But on the Day of Pentecost only 120 remained. Kind of a drastic drop-off.
I guess we feel the need to believe that Jesus was greatly appreciated by the people in his generation, and taken to be crucified only by a handful of powerful critics.
It’s just not true.
We are told that most of the time he dealt with twelve disciples–and he focused on three of them, to be the core leaders. We have some idea of the size of a normal following of Jesus when the scriptures let us know that he sent seventy out to share in his name.
If you are trying to give credence to the message of Jesus by pointing out how enthralled the Jewish community and the Roman oppressors were, then you will be sadly disappointed when you read the actual accounts of his mistreatment and the number of individuals who desperately tried to ignore him.
We’re even told that John the Baptist’s disciples did not believe in him.
Jesus had a model. It’s very simple: Develop a hot core of followers and let them radiate the message.
Nowadays we are so eager to build up numbers in the sanctuary that we fail to build up people. Jesus basically spent three-and-a-half years working on twelve human beings.
- One of them betrayed him and killed himself.
- Another denied him, and was prepared to leave the work.
- Yet another one doubted that a resurrection was possible.
Do not despair–Jesus suffered the same slings and arrows of human apathy that you and I encounter every day. He just had a great system. So when he left the planet, there was a handful of people who knew what he taught, knew what he stood for and were prepared to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to give them the power and insight to take the Gospel to the whole world.
*****
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Good News and Better News … January 8th, 2018
Jonathots Daily Blog
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Bethel United Methodist Church in Walterboro, South Carolina.
Although I’m not privy to your traveling plans, it does seem unlikely that you will ever make your way to darken the doors of this particular sanctuary. I did–just yesterday morning.
With a day that folks from Wisconsin would call “brisk” and those from South Carolina deemed “polar ice cap,” some 
very faithful locals gathered in the building to see what the weather and the road had brought to them via our humble efforts.
It started the day before, when Wally, Johnny and Collin arrived to help us set up, and all of my equipment, which had been sitting in the back of the van, tried to “fuzz out,” insisting it was Floridian. Overcoming those little missteps, we got all hooked up, and by Sunday morning, the Holy Spirit, resilient fellow that He is, arrived in a parka.
These are beautiful people. They are delightful human beings that the political parties take for granted, and the more snotty members of our society deem to be “simple.”
It’s a huge mistake. They are full of integrity; they have hearts which can be moved with the notion of a loving God, and after a considerable amount of time, they are even willing to embrace odd-looking strangers like Janet and myself.
As I sat and chatted with these adorable brothers and sisters, I was struck by a usable idea. All during my childhood and even in my adult years, I have been encouraged by society to “find my voice.”
Yes, “find your voice.”
But yesterday it struck me that this notion is the misconception that’s driving our problems into the ditch. People are trying very hard to find their own voice, and when all these individual voices speak together, what we have is” Tower of Babel II.”
Life is not about finding your voice–it’s about finding the voice.
The voice is humble, encouraging, respectful, open-minded, free of prejudice and also gentle and kind, with good cheer.
I suppose if you sat down all the people of Bethel United Methodist and had a political discussion, they might be at each other’s throats in three minutes.
That’s why we should never do that. We should take all things pertaining to government–“Caesar”–and let them stew in their own juices.
What we need to think about are the things that belong to God.
I’ve stopped trying to find my voice, and I’m looking for the voice. It is a voice that:
1. Encourages others.
2. Knows when to shut up.
3. Doesn’t repeat information unless there’s a personal experience.
4. Looks for a reason to be kind.
5. Quotes things that lift people up.
6. Refuses to accept complaining as natural.
7. Notices when things get better.
This morning I feel as joyous as a new baby colt. (They are joyous, aren’t they? I would think so.)
Because the good news is, I got to spend time with Wally, Johnny, Collin and the blessed souls of Bethel.
And the better news is, I got to practice once again finding The Voice instead of insisting on promoting mine.
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Jesonian … December 16th, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
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A day in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
Although most theologians would like to focus on the 24-hour period leading up to his crucifixion, the Gospels do offer us other examples. One of the primal outlines is found in Matthew, Chapters 12 and 13. You may feel free to read it–I will not tax your spirit or patience by parsing it verse by verse–but there are six things that become clear from perusing the story line.
1. Jesus was not a theologian.
His disciples walked through a field of corn, and even though it was forbidden by religious edict to eat it–especially on the Sabbath–they partook. Jesus defended them to the Pharisees, who were ready to leap upon the activity to prove the unworthiness of Jesus’ Kingdom movement. During this exchange, Jesus makes a profound statement: “The Sabbath is for man.”
It is geared for us, in order to replenish, rejuvenate and renovate our thinking.
2. Jesus was not a rabbi.
He strolls into a synagogue and disrupts the service by healing a man with a withered hand. He is accosted for this untimely interruption, and replies, “Each one of you will save a donkey from a trench, but you won’t do anything to help this fellow.”
Yes, Jesus was guilty of interrupting the flow of worship.
And contrary to the common patter:
3. Jesus was not a Jew.
Not only did he break the Jewish laws, taunting them in doing so, but we are informed that he was a voice, a spirit and a teacher in whom the “Gentiles could trust.”
Even though his proximity to Jerusalem might generate the assumption that he was a Son of Abraham, he made it clear that he was around “before Abraham.”
Shall we press on?
4. He was certainly not a traditionalist.
The religious leaders believed he was satanic. They swore he was casting out demons by the power of Satan. Of course, none of them could cast out a demon, but Jesus made it clear that he had come to destroy the works of the devil and that they needed to be careful not to mock the moving of the Holy Spirit just because it was inconvenient to their case.
So Jesus is not a theologian, a rabbi, a Jew or a traditionalist. And by the way:
5. Jesus was not a family man.
When interrupted by his mother, brothers and sisters during a time of ministry (because they wanted to take him home, thinking he was crazy) Jesus turned to the crowd and claimed them as his new family.
Yes, Jesus might find it difficult to be in a church service, welling up over allegiance with people simply because of shared DNA.
So as Matthew describes a day in the life of Jesus, when he defies theologians, upsets a rabbi, walks away from Judaism, breaks traditions and sidesteps family involvement, he ends the discourse by establishing who the Nazarene really was.
For the Master sat down and told a story: “The sower went forth to sow seed.”
6. Jesus is a sower.
He’s not concerned about isolating off perfect soil, but merely casting the seed in the direction of any possibility.
A day in the life of Jesus will let you know that his message was human, geared for humans, addressed to humans, human-friendly and human-saving.
He discarded religion in favor of the reality of those souls God sent his way.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
Good News and Better News… October 2nd, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
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She was a sweetheart.
During my two presentations at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Clermont, Florida, I got a chance to meet this delightful woman.
She bounced up to my book table and engaged in conversation. About halfway through our exchange, her face got a little more serious and she asked me, “How do we rate? I mean, you go to places all over America. How would you rate our church?”
I knew she wanted a serious answer, yet I wasn’t going to placate her nor was I going to try to place some burden on her heart by pointing out an inadequacy.
“You’re kind of right in the middle,” I said.
She started to smile, then squinted and replied, “Well, that’s not very good.”
After nearly forty-five years of traveling America and sharing in a vari=ety of venues, many of them churches, I will tell you what makes a good church. It begins and ends with the word “generous.”
One of the most chilling statements Jesus offered to his disciples, and to us who would follow his message, was “to he who much is given much is expected.” So it’s a little optimistic to think that you’ll receive eternal salvation while lounging on a heavenly hammock. So here are the three things that make a great church:
1. Generous space.
Sanctuaries are too cramped. They’re confining. This stifles the sensation of freedom. Since your church probably is not filling up the sanctuary for every service, take come pews out. Create room. Make people aware that they have the freedom to extend their legs and arms. Give children a place to crawl.
Clear everything unnecessary from the platform. There should be room for three or four people to stand side by side easily.
If you give air to the room you give air to the people to give air
2. Generous face.
If you’re not going to talk to someone, don’t peer from a distance. It’s creepy. And when you walk up, don’t stay too long, but do make eye contact while you’re there.
We met a fabulous brother named Joe at Shepherd of the Hills. He was not an “average Joe.” He was loving, giving, kind, and made us believe that we had a primal place in his present consciousness.
No one expects you to be a counselor or long-lost friend from high school, but grant folks the dignity to enter your generous space and receive your generous face.
3. Generous grace.
You have no right, privilege or scriptural authority to probe into the lifestyles of those who worship next to you. Share the Gospel of Jesus and let the Gospel do its work. The Holy Spirit is much more adept at convicting people than you are with your gossip. I don’t care what you hear about people. I don’t care what you think about people. At no time do you, I or anyone else have the permission to judge anyone.
It is possible for any church in America to become a Jesonian church–a Jesonian Catholic, a Jesonian Baptist, a Jesonian Methodist, a Jesonian Lutheran, a Jesonian Pentecostal–but it requires you to take on the heart of Jesus instead of pounding your favorite theological nails.
The good news is that Shepherd of the Hills Church has this delightful lady who is not willing to subsist in the middle.
And the better news is, if you make your church a generous space with a generous face, offering generous grace, you will grow.
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